Taaffe Playground

This playground honors Monsignor Thomas Taaffe (1837-1920), pastor of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn. Taaffe was born in Longford, Ireland, and studied at both Trinity College and Missionary College of All Hallows in Dublin. He was ordained a priest in 1863, and was sent by the Roman Catholic Church to the United States that same year. Taaffe first served St. Anne’s Church in Brooklyn Heights, then St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Far Rockaway In 1868, he became pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church, located on Debevoise Place in Brooklyn. Four years later, Taffee became the pastor of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church.